Perhaps one of Mount St. Michael’s best games of the season came in a 34-27 loss to perennial powerhouse St. Anthony’s earlier in the year.

“Obviously, we were disappointed in the outcome,” The Mount’s head coach, Mario Valentini said. “But I think we proved to people and ourselves that we can play with anybody.” As the CHSFL football season winds down – the playoffs begin next week – jostling for position is still underway. Valentini’s team is looking to better itself with a win today at home against St. Joseph by the Sea at 1:30 p.m.

The Mountaineers, who didn’t make the championship playoffs a year ago, have handled the league’s new, tougher schedule well. This season, teams in the top AAA division only played each other, rather than having a game or more against lower level teams.

“There are no breathers,” Chaminade head coach Bill Basel said.

That’s fine with Valentini.

“I think it’s made everybody better,” Valentini said. “Teams have risen to the challenge.” Including Valentini’s, led by junior quarterback Jayson Holt, who took over the offense last year as a sophomore.

“That experience is really helping him now,” Valentini said.

As for the rest of the division, defending champion St. Anthony’s looks ready to get the top seed once again. Standing in the Friars’ way is Basel’s Chaminade team, which hosts St. Anthony’s tonight at Hofstra at 7 p.m.

“It’s always great when we play St. Anthony’s,” Basel said. “But it’s even better when we’re both having good years like we are now.”

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In the PSAL, Curtis, a team many feel is the secondbest team in the league, puts its perfect record on the line when it hosts struggling arch rival Wagner today at noon.

Lehman visits Columbus at 2 p.m. in another key game. Other games with playoff implications include JFK at Clinton, Midwood at Lincoln and lesserknown squads Grady versus Tilden, at Lafayette, at noon.